Expert: Abe - 12/17/2007

Question
For a long time I loved photography but never took it seriously and I wana change that.Looking for a digital camera that can give good quality pictures in day and night time. hopefully with a price less than 500 $
Thanks alot

Answer
Hello, and thanks for your question!

Just a few years ago, $500 would only get you a reasonably good point and shoot. Today, $500 will buy you a top of the line point and shoot, or better yet, an entry-level digital SLR.  

You mentioned that you want a camera that takes good photos during the day and at night. Unfortunately, there is no point and shoot camera that reliably takes good night time or low-light photos. For that reason, and since the prices have come down so dramatically, I'll recommend that you purchase an SLR. For $500, you can buy one with a "kit" lens (usually the equivalent of about 28-80mm ). That's a great place to start. You can add lenses later as your skills and needs grow.

If you buy online, check out the online store you're buying from at resellerratings dot com. Many online stores are nothing more than scams, offering low prices but selling stripped goods. Go with a good retailer and save yourself some trouble in the end.

As for specific cameras, here are some suggestions:

Nikon D40 w/18-55 kit lens (about $450)
- Great quality lens
- Great image quality

Canon Rebel XT w/18-55 kit lens  (about $460)
-Even better quality images with the right ($$$) lenses
-Kit lens not as good as Nikon's

Pentax K-100D w/18-55 kit lens (about $450)
-Very good image quality
-Very good lens, 2nd only to Nikon's kit lens
-Very useful image stabilization feature for blur free photos in low-light

If I had $500 to spend, I'd probably go with the Nikon kit.

Don't worry about how many megapixels your camera has unless you plan to print poster-sized prints. Having a lot of megapixels is overrated and is more of a marketing gimmick than a contributor to photo quality.

You'll need $25-35 for a 1 GB memory card (compact flash or secure digital, depending on which model you buy). A 2GB card will be even better and only cost about $15 more. Unless you plan on action photography, where continuous shooting is a big part of your photography, get the cheap memory cards for now.

I hope this helps. Feel free to contact me again if you need any further assistance.

All the best!
Abe